About this Research Topic
The remarkable ability of microorganisms to directly exchange electrons with each other and their environment has wide-reaching implications in anaerobic ecosystems, including industrial anaerobic processes, health, or biologically derived nano-electronics. Electromicrobiology is a rapidly emerging field defined as the study of extracellular electron transport (EET) between electroactive microorganisms and extracellular electrons acceptors or donors including electronic devices. The field sprung into existence almost a century ago with the discovery of bacteria that metabolize organic carbon produced small amounts of electricity when an electrode was provided as their only electron acceptor. Since then, it has become apparent that an ever-expanding number of microorganisms are capable of EET which may be essential for the effective functioning of diverse anaerobic microbial ecosystems and the functioning of global biogeochemical cycles.
This Research Topic aims to bring together fundamental advances in electromicrobiology, paying particular attention to novel EET mechanisms, the role of electroactive microorganisms in biogeochemical cycles, climate change, and future biotechnologies.
We invite authors to contribute with articles that address in particular, but are not limited to:
• Describing novel organisms capable of EET.
• Characterizing the diversity of molecules and mechanisms involved in EET
• Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer (DIET) and conductive particle mediated electron transfer (CIET)
• Role of electroactive microorganisms in biogeochemical cycling
• Role of electroactive microorganisms in climate change (e.g., greenhouse gas emission or capture)
• Electron transfer between microorganisms and materials, including microbially influenced metallic iron (Fe0) corrosion
• The ecology of electroactive microorganisms
• Future biotechnologies relying on the properties of electroactive microorganisms, including energy storage, sustainable chemical production, bioremediation, and human health
This Research Topic aims to bring together fundamental advances in electromicrobiology, paying particular attention to novel EET mechanisms, the role of electroactive microorganisms in biogeochemical cycles, climate change, and future biotechnologies.
We invite authors to contribute with articles that address in particular, but are not limited to:
• Describing novel organisms capable of EET.
• Characterizing the diversity of molecules and mechanisms involved in EET
• Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer (DIET) and conductive particle mediated electron transfer (CIET)
• Role of electroactive microorganisms in biogeochemical cycling
• Role of electroactive microorganisms in climate change (e.g., greenhouse gas emission or capture)
• Electron transfer between microorganisms and materials, including microbially influenced metallic iron (Fe0) corrosion
• The ecology of electroactive microorganisms
• Future biotechnologies relying on the properties of electroactive microorganisms, including energy storage, sustainable chemical production, bioremediation, and human health
Keywords: extracellular electron transport, EET, Direct Interspecies electron transfer, DIET, e-pili, cytochromes, biological conductivity, conduction, physiology, biogeochemistry, biotechnology
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
